WIM-Africa Events
Panel of Contributors
Dr Comfort Asokoro-Ogaji MD Richflood Ltd & Director, Africa Minerals and Miners Centre, London, United Kingdom
Ndilisa Didiza, Managing Director and Geospatial Specialist, Kgothatso Innovations, Johannesburg, South Africa
Baba-Jallah Epega, Vice Managing Director, Epega Marketing & Communications Agency Ltd (EMCA), Lagos, London, Dubai
Fatoumata Diatigui Diarra, Conseil Fiscal,Ordre des Conseils Fiscaux du Mali/ALT, Bamako Mali
Eng. Lightness Ladislaus Salema, CBWA-TZ- Country head, Thamani Madini & WIMO - Tanzania
Sara Turnbull, Senior Exploration Geologist, Johannesburg Office, SRK Exploration, PhD Candidate at University of the Witwatersrand- South Africa.
Sri Sushma Gullapalli, Business Head - West African Mining Sector, B5 Plus Group, Accra - Ghana
Key Recommendations
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Countries in Africa need to Make mining laws and economic policies gender-inclusive continuously
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The need to Advance women's social protections at the mine and home.
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The need to Account for gendered differences in occupational health and safety efforts at mine sites
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Capacity building is key to growth. African women are urged to build capacities in their areas of interest in the commodity value chain.
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African women should collaborate and consider having corporate partnerships for solid minerals processing and export corporations.
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Universities should collaborate with the MMC to create centres of excellence across the continent for innovations and capacity building.
Poor working conditions, sanitation, and violence, as well as domestic work, disproportionately impact women's artisanal and small-scale miners' health and earnings, relegating them to low-paying roles and 90 times more at risk of death than men.
Gender discrimination, enshrined in mining laws, and disregard for health, safety, and social protection limit the rights and economic opportunities of women artisanal and small-scale miners. According to the new World Bank report, Women in artisanal and small-scale mining face formidable challenges that require urgent action to ensure they are safe and can thrive in the mine and at home.
The importance of gender equality in artisanal and small-scale mining cannot be overemphasised. Women miners and girls' empowerment, and their rights to healthier lives and safer mining practices is a powerful development tool.